I fidgeted with the cover surrounding my waist, unable to give in to sleep. Nervousness or excitement; I couldn't exactly pinpoint what was keeping me awake.
Gazing at the ceiling, I imagined who would be on my team. Whoever they are would help shape the rest of my life, so it was a really big deal.
A thought popped into my head. Who was going to be my sensei? I hadn't even thought about that yet!
Recognizing I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, I kicked the blanket off and brought myself into a vertical sitting position.
Resting my elbows on my knees, I rubbed my eyes in frustration. Of all nights to become an insomniac.
Letting out a growl of discontent I leapt to my feet and walked towards the window.
My gaze rested upon the full moon. The clear, crisp night air slightly calmed my racing thoughts, but not to the point where sleep would come easily.
Deciding to take a walk, I nimbly climbed out the window knowing a house full of ninjas could wake at any moment.
Bare feet touched the soft dirt, cooling my unnaturally warm body. Rolling my shoulders back, I began my departure of the Uchiha Compound.
Just as I was about to escape the edges of my house, I head the sound of my father raising his voice. Suddenly curious as to what instigated such a reaction from my usually stoic father, I crept towards the voices.
"-unrest in the clan isn't going away. Am I supposed to just do nothing?"
I felt myself still at the familiar sound of my brother, Itachi. The topic of their conversation peaked my interest, so I inched forward to hear their voices better.
"Yes, Itachi, that is precisely what you must do. Nothing! This clan does not need any more internal conflict, especially coming from you."
Wait, what? I mean, I'm not an idiot. I've noticed the odd arguments and the feeling of discontent permeating throughout the clan, but what does that have to do with Itachi? My mind whirled with all of the questions suddenly bombarding my brain.
Deciding I needed to clear my head and escape the conversation before I got caught, I took a step back. A loud snapping sound made me flinch as I cursed my luck. I'm a ninja for crying out loud, I'm supposed to be good at this stealth thing.
"Who was that?" my father whispered along with some other words I would rather not repeat.
I whirled around and jumped to the nearest tree branch. As I ran, I looked behind me to see if anyone was pursuing. Suddenly, I ran into what felt like a brick wall. I slipped from the tree branch I had landed on, clutching my nose in agony.
"Ouch, ow! Man that hurt- holy fudge balls, I falling!" I screamed, as I flailed my arms in terror. I jumped in surprise as a pair of hands quickly grasped my upper arms, stopping the fall that could have ended my life prematurely.
"I expected more from you, dearest little sister," taunted a voice I knew all too well.
"Itachi, you bastard! You practically broke my nose and killed me in the process!" I shrieked, still trying to calm my racing heart. I slammed my fist into his chest out of frustration, and I felt him chuckle from beneath my palm.
"Calm down, we both know you would have recovered before that fall did any kind of damage," he said. I simply stuck my tongue out at him in response, too overwhelmed to formulate a witty response and knowing that he was right.
"Anyways, what were you doing eavesdropping back there? That conversation was none of your concern."
Now steady on the tree branch, I crossed my arms in discontent and scrunched my face in anger, cocking my hip for good measure.
"What do you mean, none of my concern. As far as I know, I am apart of the Uchiha Clan just as much as you and Father are. Just because I'm not a man-"
"Amasaki, that is not what I meant and you know it. Father just doesn't seem to understand, and I'm trying to explain, but he- he," Itachi suddenly cut off. I dropped my arms as I realized that Itachi was struggling to reign in his emotions. Was it this bad? So bad, that Itachi, the master of all poker faces, was finding it hard to hide what he did not want to reveal.
I furiously blinked my eyes at the sudden moister in them, and attempted to remedy the situation.
"Itachi, it's fine. you don't have to explain it to me. I get it. None of my concern."
However, my social skills obviously needed some practice because the pain in Itachi's eyes seemed to become more intense. I reached out my hand in an attempt to sooth him, but he flinched away. I slowly retracted my hand, swallowing the sudden lump in my throat.
"It's getting late. You should return to bed before Father finds out," Itachi said, his voice devoid of any inflection. I looked into his eyes and held back a gasp. They were stone cold, a dead look in them that was overflowing with darkness.
I know I appear to be overreacting, but Itachi and I were usually close. Him shutting me out like this was abnormal. We tell each other everything. The fact that he ended that conversation by indirectly threatening me using Father's authority was the cherry on top. I wouldn't say I was rebellious, but my father and I don't get along very well. He has a tendency to boss people around, and I have a tendency to ignore orders. Essentially, we're like water and oil. We don't mix together.
Confused, sad, and frustrated, I hurriedly jumped to the ground and ran in the opposite direction of the compound. I waited for Itachi to chase after me, but he never did.
The next few months were strained between Itachi and I. In front of everyone else, we acted normal. However, our usual jokes and interactions sounded dull and fake to my ears. Once more, his deteriorating temper and increasing amount of time away from home was causing me to worry.
For the most part, nobody seemed to notice, but Sasuke showed he knew more about what was going on than I thought.
I was giving Sasuke company while he was at the dock, practicing his Fireball Jutsu because our father was being an uncouth and emotionally impaired potato. While he was taking a break, he casually brought Itachi up.
"Hey Amasaki, Itachi doesn't seem to be home as much lately. I miss him."
I glanced at the raven-headed child beside me. For being so young, he's had to endure a lot of things he shouldn't have to.
I sighed and leaned back on my hands, stretching out my legs on the dock. "Me too, bud, me too."
"Why is he gone so much lately? And why aren't you guys getting along anymore?" he asked innocently, the pain in his voice evident.
"Siblings fight all the time Sasuke, it's nothing to worry about," I said, subtly evading his first question. I didn't even know where Itachi was going nowadays.
The conversation lulled afterwards, and the silence gave my thoughts plenty of time to disorient me. Everything seemed to be going wrong in the clan lately, and it was causing me to question the future and the repercussions that might follow any rash decision-making. The atmosphere of unrest was just continuing to grow, and on more than one occasion, arguments have broken out.
That following week, I finally got a reprieve from the constant worrying when my team finally received our first mission outside the village.
I was in my room packing whenever I heard a knock at my door. Turning away from my bag, I rose my eyebrows in surprise when I noticed who it was. Itachi stood in the doorway, looking slightly uncomfortable, but calm nonetheless.
"What do you want?" I asked, sighing and slumping my shoulders. While waiting for his reply, I turned my back to him and continued to pack my bag with everything I would need for my mission.
"What's wrong with a brother coming to visit his sister right before she leaves for her first mission outside of the village?" he asked. I slowly turned back around and scoffed at his reply.
"Seeing how we haven't exactly been talking lately, I didn't expect you to see me off."
The small grin that had been present on Itachi's faced quickly fell, and the same overwhelming sadness that was present on the night I was eavesdropping settled into his eyes. I was taken aback at the emotion and turned back around, not liking the feeling of guilt that began to settle in my chest.
I heard Itachi clear his throat, and I fumbled with the weapons on my bed as the awkwardness I had instilled into the room became almost tangible.
I felt more than heard Itachi move further into the room. His years spent in the ANBU Black Ops had basically eliminated all sound from his movements.
Another lurch of guilt motivated me to turn around and face him. I spun on my heel and opened my mouth, an apology on the tip of my tongue. Instead, a squeal escaped as I realized how close Itachi was.
"Geez Itachi, have you ever heard of personal space?" I asked, slightly irritated at his proximity. However, my irritation melted away as Itachi suddenly kissed my forehead.
"I apologize, little sister. I know these past few months have been rough between us. I should have attempted to remedy the problem the next day, but other things came up, and it appears I've run out of time."
My confusion continued to grow as Itachi wrapped his arms around me.
"Wait, Itachi, what're you talking about? What do you mean, you've run out of time? You're scaring-"
"I'm sorry, Amasaki. I truly am, and I hope you know that. I cannot elaborate on the current situation, but between the growing unrest within the clan, Father's constant rebuttal, and Shisui's recent death, I needed to see you. Siblings shouldn't be fighting like this. Even Sasuke has noticed the tension between us. Speaking of Sasuke, make sure you take care of him. He can be a little hard headed, but you know that better than anyone. He needs guidance from time to time along with the occasional helping hand. He'll especially need the help as he begins this journey ahead of him. I love you both. More than you could possibly imagine. No matter how much you hate me, I will always care for you and Sasuke, and nothing can change that fact. Nothing."
I opened my mouth and tried to reply, but nothing came out. Itachi rested his chin atop my head and tightened his hold on me for a moment before releasing his grip completely.
"Goodbye Amasaki."
With that, Itachi disappeared out of my room without a trace. I looked for him all evening, but I failed to find him. That following morning, I left for my mission.
That was the last I ever saw of my older brother.
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Hello everyone!
It's been what, 3-4 years? I was scrolling through Wattpad after the longest time and stumbled upon this old thing, and I decided, why the heck not?
Anyways, I don't know if I'm gonna continue this or not. I was just procrastinating my homework and this was the result.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed reading!